WYS Wensleydale Gems Review

West Yorkshire Spinners has built its reputation on its quality British yarn and the recent addition of the 100% Wensleydale Gems range offers knitters who want to knit with British wool even more choice.

Available in 20 bold, 'gem'-like colours, the 100g DK skeins are spun from Wensleydale Fleece.

Image courtesy of West Yorkshire Spinners

The colours (see six above) are certainly eye-catching, but what is the wool like to knit with? West Yorkshire Spinners kindly sent A Woolly Yarn a skein of the 'pink quartz' shade for review and all opinions are our own.

We used a free snood pattern from Rowan to put Wensleydale Gems through its paces. The skein feels soft and slightly fluffy and when knitted up it has a slight halo.

As you can see from the photo above, stitch definition in the wool is slightly fuzzy rather than crisp, which gives a pleasing effect. Its easy to knit with, has no colour transference and there were hardly any problems with yarn splitting when knitting.

Worn against the skin the wool is warm and non-itchy - great for Winter accessories although you'd probably want to put on a T-shirt underneath for an extra layer if wearing a jumper or cardigan knitted in it.

Overall Wensleydale Gems is a great choice for British yarn lovers and the ecru shade is worth taking a look at too if you prefer a more natural hue.

Image courtesy of West Yorkshire Spinners

Each 100g skein costs £8.50 plus P&P directly from West Yorkshire Spinners. There are also a number of supporting patterns available to buy for £2.99 each, the Evelyn jumper being our favourite for making the most of the striking, vibrant pink and red shades in the range.

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